As strange as it sounds, Beatlemania in America was jump-started by CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite, a 15-year-old girl from Silver
Spring, Md., and a disc jockey from Washington, D.C.

Cronkite’s decision to broadcast a report on The Beatles Dec. 10, 1963, triggered a domino effect causing
Beatlemania to explode in America. Watching CBS News that evening was 15-year-old Marsha Albert of Silver Spring, Md. She saw The Beatles performing “She Loves You” in Britain. She loved it, writing a letter (no social media back then!) to her favorite radio station – Washington’s WWDC -- asking why can’t we have this music in America?

Disc jockey Carroll James, who had also seen the CBS News Beatles report, arranged to have a copy of their latest British hit single, “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” delivered to him by a flight attendant who worked for British airline BOAC.

Exactly one week after the CBS News story -- on Dec. 17, 1963 -- James invited Marsha Albert to introduce the song on his radio show. The station’s switchboard lit up like a Christmas tree with eager listeners phoning in to rave.

"I Want to Hold Your Hand” was immediately added to WWDC’s playlist and placed in heavy
rotation. Next, disc jockeys in Chicago and St. Louis began playing a tape of
the song.

Although Capitol Records was initially upset with this
unauthorized playing of the song, it quickly realized it had a major hit on its
hands. The song’s U.S. release date moved from January 13, 1964, to the day
after Christmas 1963. New York
City’s WMCA immediately picked it
up, with rivals WABC and WINS following – all three stations placing the song
in heavy rotation.

The same pattern was repeated throughout the nation. Boosted by saturation airplay at a time
when American teenagers were out of school for the holidays, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was an instant
best-seller with over 250,000 copies sold in the first three days. By January 10, 1964, Capitol had sold
over one million units.

Vee-Jay and Swan also piled on. These labels
had earlier taken The Beatles when Capitol and others would not. They reissued their Beatles records,
“Please Please Me” and “She Loves You” -- flops when first issued several
months before.

So, by the time the Beatles arrived in New York City on
Feb. 7, 1964, they were not
only the talk of the town, but of
the entire nation.